Coffee and Sustainability in Latin America: good practices, challenges and the road ahead

The production of coffee has a close tie with social and environmental sustainability. The expansion of coffee production in Latin America in response to higher consumer demand is, in some cases, accompanied by several threats, including water pollution, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, agrochemical use, deforestation, waste generation and labour exploitation. However, coffee producers and companies have shown high dynamism in addressing sustainability issues and proactively looking for solutions in the last years. In the framework of the 44th SIGEP, the European Union Programme of cooperation for sustainable production in Latin America - AL INVEST Verde – also implemented by the International Italo – Latin American Organization – IILA which has been working in the promotion of Latin American coffee sector for approximately 20 years, proposes a dialogue among European and Latin American stakeholders of the chain to discuss good practices and main challenges to an environmental and social friendly coffee